Goodbye Airport, Hello Cornell

As I said, more to come. I thought the night started off great with me being TSA pre-checked and smooth sailing to our gate. I bought some snacks, walked around, and began blogging. I felt productive and excited to finally be going to our last stop: Cornell University. I boarded to plane to find that I had a window seat! I was excited and knew that I would walk off the flight with a quite a few pictures of the wing tips and clouds. There was an empty seat next to me and then at the aisle seat a man sat down and immediately put his headphones in; I could tell right away that I would not be talking to him much during his flight and was right when throughout the entirety of our travels he was eating.

A lady came and sat down in the middle seat, her name was Laura and I told her how I was going to New York for the first time with my chaperone and cohort all the way from the other side of the country. She told me she knew a few people who go to and went to Cornell which was interesting and that she was going to New York for a conference for work, she is a lactation consultant and absolutely loves what she does. The way she talked about her career and her eyes lit up describing how she was in her 50's continuing to pursue her interest made me reflect on the things we do and why we do them; how it shapes us to be who we are. One of the concepts she was firm on was that nursing, etc. is something natural and doctors don't understand that.

I told her I could relate to what she was saying because no one has lived with our bodies our whole lives except for us, so we would know best since it is our instinct to detect any abnormalities. I shared with her growing up I didn't understand certain things about mental health since it was never discussed; how as I became more mature I learned more about myself and what it is that I need. Laura also shared her opinions on vaccines and some stories about her kids' high school experiences. I appreciated how open she was and willing she was to talk to me about my high school experience and my plans for the future.

Our plane from Chicago was actually delayed --which happens -- but we had a connecting flight from Newark which would take us to Ithaca. When the plane landed everyone made way for me and told me to 'run like the wind' since I told them about my situation. I was appreciative of how they let me through and I was one of the earliest off the plane. I couldn't just go by myself so running off was a little useless since Deven was at the back of the plane and one of the last ones off. 

Of course our other gate was the opposite end of the airport, we literally ran through and saw that the plane had left the terminal but not yet taken off, as a result they would not let us get on no matter how persistent Deven was in explaining the importance of us getting to Ithaca on time.  Then it was time to play the waiting game, making phone calls, having discussions with the customer help service, more phone calls, etc. We were sitting out on the chairs for a good few hours, blogging here and there to help make use of the time we now had. I called my parents to let them know what was going on and even some of my friends so I had something to do. I was in no way stressed or anxious about the situation. If anything I felt bad for Javaria and Robson who seemed to be very overwhelmed from everything that was going on.

Hours later, we were escorted to an unaccompanied minor's room where we basically spent the night attempting to rest up and post our blogs. It was just a room with some uncomfortable sofas and some big chairs which were better because I could at least curl up without falling off. It was just an inconvenience and I wanted to sleep. We went out in search for some food so that we wouldn't pass out or something from being so tired, I got quinoa salad with black tea which made my day much better. It was actually the highlight of my day, which says a lot. Finishing uploading my blog, which was difficult to do without wifi, I attempted to get some sleep which was much needed after today's events. The music never really stopped so I was walking around to try and make myself tired before falling asleep on the chair in the room we were in for the night. I woke up glad to know I will be out of the airport later today. We went down to baggage claim to get our bags, which we found out were in Ithaca. Javaria's bags were apparently still in Chicago. I literally changed and freshened up in the bathrooms there before grabbing some iced coffee and a sandwich knowing we would be boarding soon.

The plane was very small, so small that if I stood up fully while next to the seat my head would hit the compartment for baggage. the flight was even less than an hour, I was amazed looking out the window at all the greenery which was so different to the city I saw when leaving San Francisco and Chicago. We arrived in Syracuse in the middle of the day and took a shuttle to the Ithaca airport where we claimed our baggage and even found Javaria's. The scenery was beautiful on the way to Cornell and I was in awe that such a place even existed. 

We arrived at Cornell, late of course because of our flight delays but the whole time I was in touch with my residence hall. When we arrived and checked in at RPCC the girl I was on the phone with, Cherise, came to pick me up from where I was and dropped me off at my dorm room. I have a single which I am actually happy about, I called my parents to let them know I had safely arrived and then went out and met with my 'sink mate' whose room was connected to mine via a sink we both had doors to lead to, I am guessing it is for brushing your teeth and washing your face? We talked about our courses and our shared nervousness for the workload to be expected. 

Her name is Miffy, and across from her is a girl named Bella who is all the way from Taiwan! We went and grabbed lunch and talked with a lot of different students taking different courses; afterwards we walked around and just got to know each other more before gathering in front of Balch for ice-cream. I met a girl named Sara who is also from Pakistan and came to America for the first time this summer for this program. It really hit me then how much people wanted to be a part of the summer college program here at Cornell. I went back to my dorm to get myself situated before having our floor meeting with our RA, her name is Emma and she was super sweet and helpful in giving us all the information we needed. 

I have to admit, I  am very glad and grateful to finally be here, but I do feel very homesick. Maybe because it's Eid tomorrow and this is the first time I am completely alone. Or because I am alone in my dorm room. But tomorrow is a new day and I am meeting my friends and more of my peers in this experience before classes start very soon. I miss home but I am here only for a short while and intend to make the most of it.